Ionian Islands Soupies me Spanaki (Σουπιές με Σπανάκι)

Ionian soupies me spanaki is cuttlefish braised with spinach, dill, and a modest spoon of tomato, the kind of Lenten pot that tastes of a working harbour and a weeknight stove. It isn't a red stew. The sauce should be deep green, glossy with olive oil, and only lightly stained by tomato.

One method decides it: cook the cuttlefish tender first, then fold in the spinach. Cuttlefish needs the slow pot; spinach needs mercy. Start them together and by the time the cuttlefish gives, the greens have gone tired and dark. Do it in order and you get soft, pearly cuttlefish with spinach that still tastes alive.

The region is the dish's surname. In the Ionian islands the pot often takes dill and a little tomato, not a heavy sauce, and it asks for bread beside it because the juices are half the meal. I write it down exactly enough for the first try to work, then you can cook it by eye the way the island cooks do.